Saudi knowledge city in tie-up with Wipro

Dubai, April 12 (IANS) Saudi Arabia’s Knowledge Economic City (KEC) Al Madinah will utilize leading Indian IT major Wipro’s solutions and assess the possibility of developing an ICT-related research and development centre within KEC. An agreement to this effect was signed by KEC chairman Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Mohammed Al-Issa and Wipro chairman Azim Premji in Jeddah Friday.

“Wipro is one of the largest IT service providers in the world,” KEC chief executive Tahir Bawazir said.

“They bring with them decades of experience and a work force large enough to provide a full support system to KEC. We will be working together in areas of research and development, as well as establishing a joint education institute for the training of IT professionals.”

He said that Wipro would cooperate with KEC in corporate social responsibility initiatives, which enhance the local community’s IT basic skills.

“Wipro employs around 85,000 people internationally and have over two decades experience training people; we’ll use this expertise in the local market to up-skill the Saudi people,” he said.

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Dubai group temporarily abandons bid for Liverpool

Dubai International Capital (DIC) has said it was abandoning for the time being its bid to buy Liverpool Football Club, as the battle between the club’s co-owners appeared to show no sign of abating.

“You have two partners who do not see eye to eye. And we decided that we pull out completely. Let them sort out their problems,” DIC chief executive Sameer Al Ansari was quoted by Arabian Business magazine as saying.

Established in 2004, DIC is an international investment company that primarily focuses on private and public equity.

DIC was offering 510 million pounds for the club, thereby allowing owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to take 40 million pounds each as profit.

Hicks has refused to sell his stake and is currently trying to raise the necessary capital to buy out his co-owner.

“We will continue to be interested and would love to own the club but we are not going to put ourselves in a difficult situation where we make the investment but we have no control over the destiny of the club and we cannot influence the success of the club,” Al Anasari said.

“Unfortunately, the terms that have been put on the table do not allow us to do that.”